State amps up online offerings for voter registration

In an effort to improve turnout, reduce errors and cut administrative costs, New York will allow online voter registration for the first time.

On Thursday, Cuomo administration officials joined good government groups to announce the initiative, which will be run by the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Online forms are now available at the agency’s “My DMV” website; electronic terminals will soon be set up at local DMV locations. Both processes, officials said, will still require rigorous in-person identity verification.

New York has struggled to promote voter registration — with less than 64 percent of eligible residents registered, it currently ranks 47th in the nation. Twelve states currently offer online registration, with an additional two on the way; a number of early adoptees have seen substantial increases in registration rates.
The New York initiative’s leaders hope online accessibility will cause a similar bump, particularly among young and minority voters. The form will be available in Chinese, Korean, and Bengali, in addition to Spanish, which is currently offered.

Currently, county elections boards deal with a heavy load of paper registration forms provided to them by the DMV and other agencies. Officials say it’s a wasteful and mistake-prone system.

But before becoming fully automated, the local county elections boards will need what was described as a “small tweak” to their software. The state does not expect that to happen until later in the fall or early next year — after the November elections.

Alex Camarda of Citizens Union said his organization hoped the present initiative would influence other state agencies that provide voter registration. As it stands, only 17.6 percent of voter registrations come through the DMV, which has stricter identification standards for registration than other offices. The agency asks for either a driver’s license or a New York State non-driver ID to register — a requirement that won’t be waived for online applicants.

Standing in for the governor, Counsel Mylan Denerstein said that it “makes complete sense” to require ID documents issued by the DMV itself, particularly to avoid voter fraud online. She emphasized that no access points for voter registration were being closed.